Kishor Rithe

Maharashtra’s tiger troubles,April 2002

VOL. XXII. NO. 2. April 2002

 

Maharashtra’s tiger troubles

by Kishor Rithe and Ashish Fernandes

 

Maharashtra’s tigers are in decline. The conservation communities’ worst fears have been substantiated by the latest figures from the Maharashtra Forest Department. The figures from the 2001 statewide wildlife population estimation reveal that the state’s tiger population is now estimated to be 238, down from 257 in 1997, when the last estimation was conducted. Only 155 of the 238 tigers are estimated to be within the Protected Area (PA) network.

 

The state forest department conducts population estimations in PAs every year, with a statewide count in both PA and non-PA areas every four years. Tiger and leopard populations were estimated by pugmark analysis, while herbivore populations were calculated through waterhole counts. The figures were collated from Wildlife and Forest Circles across the state under the examination and supervision of a committee under the joint chairmanship of Ramanuj Choudhary, Conservator of Forests (CF) and Field Director, Melghat Tiger Reserve and Shree Bhagwan, CF and Field Director, Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), two of Maharashtra’s best wildlife officers.

 

Maharashtra’s forests are varied, from the moist areas in the Konkan to the dry areas of Vidarbha in the east. These diverse habitats support a rich variety of flora and fauna. Maharashtra has a total forest area of 64,305 sq. km., over 20 per cent of the state. A mere three per cent of this is under the PA network, 29 per cent is protected forest, the rest being either reserved or unclassed. Five per cent of the state’s forests are under the control of the ironically-named Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra, much of this in key wildlife areas.

 

Maharashtra’s status as one of the more industrialised states in the country has not come without a price – the loss of much of its forests. The state’s network of five national parks and 35 sanctuaries cover a total area of 15,805 sq. km. Of the 35 sanctuaries, four are aquatic and five are mainly grassland. When these are subtracted, the actual forest cover under the Protected Area network is just 7,000 sq. km. Today, the only large continuous forest patches are found along the Satpuras in northeastern Maharashtra, in Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts and along the Western Ghats. These are the areas where tigers still remain, though populations are getting increasingly fragmented and unviable.

 

The findings of the population estimation survey are presented in a report that repeatedly stresses that the fall in tiger populations in forest areas under the Territorial Wing of the forest department is a major cause for concern. Though eight of the 11 Territorial Circles indicate the presence of tigers, only four seem to hold viable populations (Amravati, Nagpur, North and South Chandrapur). These are the areas in which Maharashtra’s three tiger reserves fall: Melghat, Tadoba and Pench.

 

Nasik, Yavatmal and Dhule circles host small, largely relic tiger populations. However, proper protection and management will see these areas rebound. Interestingly, most of the tigers in the territorial areas in Amravati, Nagpur and Chandrapur Circles are in the buffer areas of the tiger reserves, which raises a thorny issue. These areas, though not under the Wildlife Wing, need to be managed keeping wildlife requirements in mind. In particular, activities like coup felling, gradual thinning of natural growth to facilitate monocultures, etc. must at all costs be avoided. Working plans for these areas must include wildlife prescriptions and these should be strictly implemented.

 

The figure of just one tiger in the Kolhapur Circle is extremely alarming and hopefully inaccurate, as this area has some excellent forest patches. Past records indicate a significant tiger population and according to the committee, the difficulty of pugmark analysis in the terrain might account for the low estimate. These forests need more protection and working plans devoted to wildlife management.

 

The figures from the South Chandrapur Circle are particularly disturbing as it shows a steep decline in just eight years, from 57 tigers in 1993 to just 15 in 2001. With an area of 10,275 sq. km., this is one of the biggest circles in the state and figures indicated high tiger densities in the past. The reasons for the free fall are obvious: fragmentation of habitat due to human settlements and development projects, combined with a lack of monitoring due to the ‘fear of naxalites’. The extensive road network developed over the last few years has accelerated the rate of fragmentation and opened up hitherto inaccessible areas to mining, illegal timber felling and poaching. Crucially, the report says that a site visit by the committee confirmed that there is still potential to support a good tiger population, provided protection and monitoring is improved through the provision of necessary infrastructure and funds. The expansion of the Chaprala and Bhamragadh sanctuaries, the creation of Kopela Sanctuary and the enhancement of their protection is also essential.

 

The disappearance of tigers from the North Chandrapur circle, the biggest in Maharashtra (11,283 sq. km.) over the last decade is worrying. The tiger population in Chandrapur, Brahmapuri, Gadchiroli and Wadasa divisions fell from 67 in 1989 to only 19 in 2001. In the Nagpur Division of Nagpur Circle too, there has been a drop from 29 in 1989 to only 13 in 2001.

 

Overall, the trend in Territorial Areas is far from good. Clearly, these forests are not being managed for their wildlife values, causing depletion of habitats and increased poaching. This brings home a fundamental contradiction between the forest department’s Wildlife and Territorial Wings. Since the Territorial Wing’s mandate is to generate revenue and employment from the forests in its charge, this invariably leads to activities inimical to wildlife: ‘thinning’ of the forest, replacing natural mixed growth with commercial monocultures and in some cases, outright felling. We need to bear in mind that almost one-third of the state’s tigers are not protected by the PA network. Clearly the Territorial Wing’s mandate needs to be changed, at least as far as tiger forests are concerned. In such areas, protection must be given top priority. Employment can and should still be generated under schemes such as the Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS) through the cutting of fire lines, construction of check dams, etc. A special ‘Forest EGS’ scheme should be instituted, in the charge of Conservators and not the Collectors. This idea has been mooted by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, M.K. Sharma.

 

Tigers in Protected Areas

 

The figures seem to indicate that the tiger population inside the three tiger reserves has stayed more or less stable, with little change from 1997. Melghat, Maharashtra’s oldest and largest tiger reserve still indicates the presence of around 70 to 75 tigers, while the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve has about 36 to 40. Pench, with the smallest area, has between 12 to 15 big cats.

 

However, the situation in several other PAs is not nearly as good. The 133 sq. km. Chaprala Sanctuary, for example, has not recorded any tigers in the 2001 estimate, whereas the 1997 estimate placed their number at nine. Bhamragadh too has not recorded any tiger presence. Similarly, Yawal Wildlife Sanctuary showed an estimated four tigers in 1997, but none in 2001. Such drastic falls are an almost clear indication of poaching and severe disturbances in the tiger’s home. Chaprala is given least priority in fund and staff allocation, while Bhamragadh’s continuing neglect by the department is giving free rein to the commercial interests of the Ballarpur paper mill. Yawal in the Satpuras is also neglected and is fighting for survival against timber smugglers and poachers.

 

Recommendations

 

Several important recommendations have been made by the committee, and it is to be hoped that these are followed up by the department and the government. For one thing, areas around Pench must be incorporated into the reserve and brought under the control of the Wildlife Wing without delay as activities such as thinning and plantations being carried out by the Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra in the border areas are not doing the wildlife any good.

 

Also recommended is the strengthening of the TATR by bringing the adjoining forests of the Chandrapur and Bhamragadh Divisions under the control of the Field Director. This would do wonders for Tadoba, making it one of India’s most important and well-protected tiger reserves. Likewise, Nagzira, with a tiger population of about 15, needs close monitoring and protection, as the surrounding forest offers excellent potential as a tiger habitat, and their proper management could see tigers spilling over.

 

The state needs to devote more attention to the PAs in the Western Ghats, in particular, the chain formed by the Koyna, Radhanagari and Chandoli sanctuaries. Though tiger numbers here do not appear high at the moment, this belt is more or less contiguous and is a potentially good tiger habitat.

 

The way forward

 

If it wishes to demonstrate its seriousness in tackling the tiger crisis, the Maharashtra government needs to take the following steps:

 

l Enhance financial allocations to the forest department to enable it to effectively tackle poaching and illicit felling. Provision of basic infrastructure such as wireless sets, vehicles, fuel, etc. is a must.

l At present, the Wildlife Wing enjoys only a temporary status, with periodic one-year extensions. The forest department’s most important wing should not be dependent on World Bank funds, it should be funded by the government on a permanent basis. All posts surrendered by the wing last year should be reinstated and the ban on recruitment lifted so that all vacancies can be filled. Vacancies in key posts are crippling protection. Melghat, home to more than one-fourth of the state’s tigers has a 65 per cent vacancy rate at the ranger and guard level! This situation needs to be rectified immediately, before the crucial summer months when fires and poaching are a major threat.

l Ensure that all forest areas that indicate the presence of tigers are managed with wildlife as the sole priority. This will mean an end to coup felling, plantations, bamboo extraction and a host of other revenue-motivated activities.

l The state’s PA network is far from adequate. The National Wildlife Action Plan  recently released by the Prime Minister has set a target of increasing the country’s PA network to 10 per cent of our landmass. Undoubtedly, more PAs need to be declared. Areas that form tiger habitat or corridors should be given priority. For example, the Mahendri and Mansinghdeo forests, which are tiger corridors connecting Melghat and Pench have been proposed as sanctuaries but the files are gathering dust in Nagpur. These and other pending proposals (see box on facing page) need to be expedited.

l A 10 km. belt around all PAs must be declared eco-fragile under the Environment (Protection) Act, in keeping with the new National Conservation Strategy 2002.

l Areas that are corridors linking otherwise segregated wildlife populations must be given immediate protection under the law.

l Re-examine all large dams and mega projects in tiger habitats. Given the critical juncture at which the tiger is placed today, a moratorium should be placed on all dam proposals in tiger habitat, and the projects in question re-examined. Dams are probably the single biggest cause of discontinuities in tiger habitat in the Vidarbha region. The Human project outside TATR will break the corridor between TATR and forests to the east and north, including Kanha. The mammoth Upper Tapi Stage II project will submerge part of the Melghat Tiger Reserve, as well as sever forever continuity with tiger forests in Madhya Pradesh. The Bawanthadi project is presently coming up in the critical tri-junction connecting Pench, Kanha and Nagzira. Many projects were cleared years ago, before the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act came into force, but for whatever reason have not got off the ground. Such projects should be re-examined in the light of the present situation and under existing laws to determine if they pose a threat to the tiger.

 

These are only a few recommendations, but a willingness to act on them on the part of the government and forest department will demonstrate how seriously the state intends to tackle what is fast becoming a full-fledged tiger crisis.

 

Box – 1

 

Estimated tiger numbers in Maharashtra

 

Area   1993     1997     2001

 

Non-PA   136         94         83

PA           140       163       155

 

Total       276       257       238

 

Box – 2

 

Expanding Maharashtra’s PA network

 

The following are some areas that need to be given Protected Area status immediately:

 

Mansinghdeo Reserve Forest: This forest is contiguous with the Pench Tiger Reserve. Pench does not have a buffer area and Mansinghdeo can fulfil this requirement. This will also help to maintain tiger habitat continuity between Pench and the Satpura Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh. The Chief Secretary’s office has officially instructed the wildlife department to declare the area a sanctuary. The proposal has yet to be expedited.

 

Pohara-Malkhed Reserve Forest: This forest is home to around 200 bird species as well as prey species such as chinkara, nilgai, chital and wild boar. Leopards are still found here. This area has been recommended for sanctuary status by the Wildlife Institute of India. The proposal has been pending since 1994.

 

Mahendri Reserve Forest: The Mahendri forest not only serves as a corridor for tigers and leopards between Melghat and Pench (through forest areas in Madhya Pradesh), it is also home to the endangered Forest Spotted Owlet. There is considerable support for this demand from the district headquarters of Warud.

 

Additions to Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve: The area from Moharli to Navargaon up to Padmapur (around 30 sq. km.) needs to be added to the reserve. In addition, the area from TATR up to the Irai reservoir is frequented by wildlife, with tigers often coming up to the banks of the reservoir. These areas need to be given protection, either by inclusion in the TATR or by declaring them as the Irai Bird Sanctuary.

 

Additions to Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary: The area towards Jamkanjari, Ambagarh and up to Mogarkasa are part of a vital linkage between Pench Tiger Reserve and Nagzira. In addition, the Chandpur, Tiroda and Bodalkasa areas in Tiroda range are famous for their high density of prey species such as chital and sambar. Some of these areas need to be included in the Nagzira Sanctuary, or a separate Mogarkasa Sanctuary should be declared.

 

Renotification of Melghat: The parts of Melghat that were denotified in 1994 need to once again be given sanctuary status immediately as it is a key tiger habitat.

 

Caption

 

1. The Maharashtra state government needs to empower the forest department if the current downward trend in the state’s tiger population is to be reversed.

2. The Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary has shown no tigers in the 2001 estimation, down from four in 1993.

3. The Kalammawadi dam on the Dudhganga river in the Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary is a perfect example of dams destroying and fragmenting tiger and leopard habitats.

======================================================================